Easy Achievements Can Boost Game Sales, Says Gearbox Boss
- Thread starter Andy Chalk
- Start date
Okay I like achievement as much as the next guy, but I prefer to actually fucking work for them. See Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 2 those achievements/trophies actually take a damn lot of work to get, and they are oh so fulfilling to get them.
Oh, there are sites out there that play a bit with the whole "what is an ACTUAL achievment" thing out there.
http://www.trueachievements.com
Gives Achievments a multiplier based on what percentage of registered gamers who own the game have the achievment. One worth 50 pts may have an adjusted value of 120 if too few people have it.
http://www.mygamercard.net
Lets you see how far above the average achievment score for any particular game you are.
http://www.trueachievements.com
Gives Achievments a multiplier based on what percentage of registered gamers who own the game have the achievment. One worth 50 pts may have an adjusted value of 120 if too few people have it.
http://www.mygamercard.net
Lets you see how far above the average achievment score for any particular game you are.
Uff, you know whats REALLY annoying? Spending the better part of six months playing games on your brand new Xbox360, collecting a modest pile of achievments, and then when you finally decide to delve into xbox live, you accidentaly overwrite your existing profile, deleting all your saved games and achievements, then having to go through all the games again to get them back >_< *sulks bitterly*
Yeah, I'm an achievement junkie. But for me, it's about getting all the achievements in games I already own; I don't buy games for achievements.
The only time I've acquired games for the points has been during achievement point challenges (through 360Voice.com), and I rented all the games I used, except one: NBA 2k6, which I saw on sale used for only twice the price of a rental ($6 instead of $3), and I figured considering my kids loved playing NBA 2002 and that was the last basketball game I bought, I could splurge and get them an upgrade.
The only time I've acquired games for the points has been during achievement point challenges (through 360Voice.com), and I rented all the games I used, except one: NBA 2k6, which I saw on sale used for only twice the price of a rental ($6 instead of $3), and I figured considering my kids loved playing NBA 2002 and that was the last basketball game I bought, I could splurge and get them an upgrade.
That is quite impressive imo.
I would never get a game becouse of achievements since... well, you know, what are achievements?
No, really, what are they?
A small square with a picture and maybe a funny line to describe it "proving" you acomplished something?
I confess I get a smile on my face when I get an achievement but I still don't get the point.
If that boosts the sales, then good for them. There are people for everything in this crazy world of ours.
I would never get a game becouse of achievements since... well, you know, what are achievements?
No, really, what are they?
A small square with a picture and maybe a funny line to describe it "proving" you acomplished something?
I confess I get a smile on my face when I get an achievement but I still don't get the point.
If that boosts the sales, then good for them. There are people for everything in this crazy world of ours.
for me, achievements should be something I could reasonably do on 2-3 playthroughs of the game. Most of them should be attainable in one playthrough if I try, and there should be at least one or two that are quite difficult (but not "Be in the top 10 of the multiplayer ladder" difficult).
getting collection achievements should also give you SOME benefit in the game. In Xmen Origins, for instance, even though I have the Dogtags achievement, I'd probably pick up any dogtag I saw if I started a new game, because it gives experience. Even though I have all of the riddler achievements in Batman Arkham Asylum, I'd probably get whatever riddles I could, just because it gives experience. In Assassin's Creed, I probably would NOT collect the flags after I've gotten the achievement, as they give nothing but a little mark on your completion DNA sequence. On the PS3, the flags don't even give a trophy IIRC, so there's NO reason to collect them on the PS3.
Achievements should also feel like achievements. In Oblivion, they hadn't hammered out the achievements yet, so all the achievements are "Complete all the Guilds, the Main Questline, and the Expansion Questline".. By the time Fallout 3 rolled around, the achievements were much better.
Bad achievement structure HAS sullied my enjoyment of some games. Blue Dragon for instance, you can play through the whole game and get 2 achievements out of 50.. that shouldn't happen.. Most of the achievements in Blue Dragon are "Perform this one Quicktime Minigame that you only get to do once in the whole game perfectly" and "Get to level 99".. seriously? lol
getting collection achievements should also give you SOME benefit in the game. In Xmen Origins, for instance, even though I have the Dogtags achievement, I'd probably pick up any dogtag I saw if I started a new game, because it gives experience. Even though I have all of the riddler achievements in Batman Arkham Asylum, I'd probably get whatever riddles I could, just because it gives experience. In Assassin's Creed, I probably would NOT collect the flags after I've gotten the achievement, as they give nothing but a little mark on your completion DNA sequence. On the PS3, the flags don't even give a trophy IIRC, so there's NO reason to collect them on the PS3.
Achievements should also feel like achievements. In Oblivion, they hadn't hammered out the achievements yet, so all the achievements are "Complete all the Guilds, the Main Questline, and the Expansion Questline".. By the time Fallout 3 rolled around, the achievements were much better.
Bad achievement structure HAS sullied my enjoyment of some games. Blue Dragon for instance, you can play through the whole game and get 2 achievements out of 50.. that shouldn't happen.. Most of the achievements in Blue Dragon are "Perform this one Quicktime Minigame that you only get to do once in the whole game perfectly" and "Get to level 99".. seriously? lol
Achievements have the potential to make a bad game good.
But without a worthwile challenge, that bad game will remain that way.
But without a worthwile challenge, that bad game will remain that way.
the meat of his argument is "Game Designers shouldn't be solely responsible for designing achievements", and that's probably true. I don't think he's looking for games to be like Avatar or Oblivion, but actually being able to complete the achievements? It's a big part of enjoying a game for a huge subset of players.. I wouldn't say that they're their own demographic, and not everyone who hunts for achievements is an achievement whore - everyone likes achievements.. even if you don't care to go out of your way for them, you like it when they pop up and they can give extra life to a shorter single player game.
I don't understand why it's a bad thing for the achievements to be easy to miss on your first playthrough. Wasn't the whole idea that they encourage you to play the game in non-standard ways and continue playing after the main quest is over?Altorin said:
I'm saying... Soon. While I like achievements, I find the intro ones to be fairly condescending.Nurb said:
Oh, you finished the tutorial! Um, ya. It was magic and I pwned its ass, now fuck off so I can do something worth congratulating me on, like killing tons of Doods.
*BZZT* wrong again game company CEO! Achievment whores go for the tough ones no matter how hard they are to get (That's what makes them whores). Besides, a good game makes profit, not paltry points.
I like achievements for doing hard stuff, or something witty like in Nuts and Bolts: Put a bull into the volcano to make some roast beef.
Achievements for sucking are even better. If (or better yet WHEN) i'm a game developer I would have achievements for doing something that isn't winning.
"LEAVE ME ALONE! Got hit by the same enemy more than 5 times while running- 10g"
"Maybe I shoulda saved? Yeah you should have... -10g" (Return to the menu without saving at least 30 minutes of progress)
Achievements for sucking are even better. If (or better yet WHEN) i'm a game developer I would have achievements for doing something that isn't winning.
"LEAVE ME ALONE! Got hit by the same enemy more than 5 times while running- 10g"
"Maybe I shoulda saved? Yeah you should have... -10g" (Return to the menu without saving at least 30 minutes of progress)
I hoped that gamers would realise that gamerscores are pointless when achievments are so easy to get but I was wrong.
I find achievements fun to get, but obviously I don't buy games based on achievements. I'm just a completion whore and achievements are part of that.
I like achievements that encourage or make you complete the game. Tales of Vesperia is a good example, because most of its achievements require you to complete various optional stuff in the game, such as the Collector's and Monster Books, the optional dungeon, view all skits, earn all titles, etc.
I like achievements that encourage or make you complete the game. Tales of Vesperia is a good example, because most of its achievements require you to complete various optional stuff in the game, such as the Collector's and Monster Books, the optional dungeon, view all skits, earn all titles, etc.
